Trussed expanded metal.



P.G.ARBY.

TRUSSED EXPANDBD METAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.24, 1912.

I... @9% m5. Patented Apr. 7, 1914 2 BHEETS-SEBET l.

F. G AREY,

TRUSSED EXPANQED METAL. APPLICATION MLEDiAUm, 1912.

lg Patented Apr. 7, W14.

2 SEBET-SHEET 2.

is applied to a sheet ofk i this kind,

`the sheet and there closes over the metal por* `in order to provide FRED o. AnEY, or OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 NORTHWESTERN EXPANDED I METAL COMPANY, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TRU'SSED EXPANDED METAL.

Specicationcf Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 7, i914.

Application filed August 24, i919.4 Serial No. 716,811.

T0 all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FRED C. AREY, a citi zen of the United States, residing at Oak Parknl county of Cook, State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trussed Expanded Metal, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will. enable othersskilled in the art to'which it pertains to make and use the same, reference beingl had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

In recent years it has become a common practice to employ what is known as eX- panded sheet metal in place of wooden laths to serve as a foundation or support for concrete or plaster in or upon walls of various kinds and intended for various purposes. Except where the sheet is intended simply to be embedded in a plastic mass to reinforce the same,'it should be secured to the supporting means in such a'manner as to leave behind it a space into which concrete or plaster may flow. It has therefore been customary either to secure the sheet to spacing strips, in the case of a flat sheet, or to provide the sheet with solid unexpanded portions which are pressed laterally to form projecting ribs; such ribs serving to space the main portion of the sheet away from the wall or whatever there may be behind it.

It is of importance, where expanded metal sheets are used, that the plastic material thoroughly surround all the metal elements plete protective coating. In case of metal sheets having the spacing ribs to which I have .heretofore referred, it is impossible to make the plastic material cover the back of the ribs completely and therefore, at the points where the ribs occur, the-sheets are more or less unprotected.

One of the most. Widely used metallic foundations for concrete or plastering is that type of expanded sheet' metal which is formed by slashing or slitting a sheet and then expanding it so as toproduce a structure made up of numerous similar and similarly disposed cellular members approximately diamond-shaped. Whenvr a plastic material 'expanded metal of it ills the interstcesiows behind tions so as completely to inclose them. This eesult is 'insured by soqarrying the latter with a comb'e'h'ad by a .self-spacing with respect to a wall or panding process that the metal edges which are visible from either face of the sheet have a width equal only to the thickness of the metal from which the sheet is made.

The object of the present invention is to produce an expanded metal sheet, preferably though not necessarily of the type last de scribed, in which there shall be present ribs for spacing vor for spacing and reinforcing purposes without having any part behind which the plastic material is unable to'low; thus leaving no portion of the sheetV which will be unprotected in any service to which the sheet may be put.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but for a full understanding of my invention and of its object and advantages] reference may vbe had to the following de tailed description takenin connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a front view of a sheet of eX- panded metal arranged in accordance with a preferred form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a view on an enlarged scale of a fragment of the sheet shown in Fig. l; Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. li isa. section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Reference being had to Fig. l of the drawings, 1 represents a sheet of expanded metal, preferably of the type formed by slitting a sheet at intervals along a series of parallel longitudinal rows and then expandingthe sheet in such a Way Athat it is divided throughout its entire area into a large number of similar, similarly disposed diamondshaped cellular member 2; the two axes of the diamond-shaped members being at right a'ngles to each other and running longitudinally and transversely of the sheet. The sheet in this condition is perfectly adapted as a foundation material, when applied on one side of the sheet, flowing 4through the interstices and.

massing together on the rear side so as to form alperfect covering for metal.

It is my purpose to modifyy the sheet heretofore described in such'a Way that 'by means of ribs, trusses, or both, it will be reinforced soas to give it greater/rigidity than can 'simple flat sheet and malte it other v'support to which'it inayliesecure .witl

out detracting fromfiyits'I characteristic of for plastic material,this.A

press the metal of the sheet after it has been` fully expanded, into a series of ribs or vtrusses projecting from one side; each rib or truss being made up of cellular members which permits the plastic material to` pass through just as in thevcase of the original sheet.

In'the arrangement shown, I have ro vided a series of parallel continuous ri s 3 and a series of parallel sectional trusses 4 extending transversely to the ribs 3.

As will besty be. seen from Figs. 2, 3 and Il, the ribs and trusses,`:in order to obtain .the best results under all conditions of service, should follow generally lines parallel with the sides of the small cellular members of which the sheet is composed, thisbeing the arrangement illustrated. By positioning the ribs 3 in the manner described7 a comparatively rigid truss-like effect is producedbecause corresponding sides of the cellular members in each row which is required to maire one of the ribs are arranged substantially end to end into 4the form-0f a continuous beam 5,1the several beams being connected together by short cross-pieces 6, which tie them together in the shape of a, trusscd girder. If the ribs are located .at seyne other angle than that which b/ring's them parallel to two of the sides of each of the cellular members, it will be` impossible to obtain the continuous beam eiect and therefore the sheet will not have a maximum degree of stiffness.

A. single lseries of ribs, such as the ribs 3, will serve to provide the necessary spacing and holding means, but where a greater stillness is desired, this may be obtained' by -`1neans of trusses d whiclrneed not take the form'ot' continuous ribs fbut ymay be produced as best shown 1n Figs. 2 and 3, by

simpl y depressing the metal of the sheet along l parallel lines extending parallel with two of the sides of the diamondshaped cellular members and arranged transverse to' the ribs 3; each of rows being made up of a series of sections, each shorter than the distance bctween two of the ribs 3 and lying between twoof such ribs. vBy this arrangement a stitleni'ng effect is obtained without weakening the' girder-like ribs 3 by having them intersected by the transverse trusses. The truss sections may of course be made as long as desired although the greatest benefit is obtained by those portions lying near the middle of .thespace between two of the main ribs. Furthermore, the trusses 4 need not be made as deep as the ribs 3 because the latter will give the desired spacing, the trusses being simply for the purpose of securing stillness. ln thc arrangement shown, the short truss sections are only about half as 'larly-disposed deep as the main ribs and they decrease gradually in depth from the middle toward the ends.

It is customary to overlap expanded metal main diagonal ribs at one of the corncrs,-

this being the lower right hand corner in Fig. 1 and so space the ribs apart that the last one at the samd endof the sheet will come just within the corne1',-as indicated at the upper right hand cornerin Fig. 1v. The same disposition is made at the opposite end ofthe sheet, onlyv that the order isreversed.

Bythis arrangement two sheets, lying with I their ends in alinement and` overlapping slightly,v have all of their ribs along the overlapp'ing edges in registration with each ot 1er. v

1While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited -to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described; but intend to cover all forms and arrangements which fall within the terms employed in the definitions ofmy invention constituting the`appended claims.

I claim:

1. A reticulated metal sheet made up of strands or strips forming connected similarly-disposed polygonal members arranged in rows extending diagonally across the sheet, certain of the sides of the members in each row forming a continuous piece extending lengthwise of the row, and a portion of the reticulated metal being pressed laterally into the form of a rib containing at least one of said continuous pieces whereby the sheet is stiiieued vboth transversely and longitudinally.

2. A reticulated metal sheet made up of strands or strips forming connected simiolygcnal members arranged in rows exten ing diagonally of the sheet, each row containing a continuousstit'fening piece extending lengthwise thereof and composed of corresponding sides of the members in said row, a portion of the reticulated sov metal being pressed laterally into the form a of a rib containing at least one entire row and portions of adjacent rows, said rib extending parallel with and containing a pluizoy rality of said still'cuing pieces whereby the i sheet is stiffeucd both transversely and longitudinally.

3. A rcticulated metal sheet made up ofstrands or strips forming connected sirnilurly-disposed polygonal members arranged in rows, each of said members lying; in two rows crossing each other and extending d1 agonally of the sheet and V-corresponding sides of the members in each row forming a continuous stitfening piece extending diagonally across the sheet, portions of the reticnlated metal being pressed laterally into the forni of a series of continuous parallel ribs each containing at least one of said stifi'ening pieces, and other portions of the reticulated metal being pressed laterally into the form of short ribs lying between the ribs of the other set and each containing a portion of one of said stiffening pieces.

4. A reticulated metal sheet made up wholly of strands cr strips arranged on edge and forming connected open frame-like members arranged in parallel rows, certain of the sides of the members in each row forming a continuous stiffening piece extending in the direction of the length of the row,portions of the reticulated metal being pressed laterally pa yallel with and each containing a plurality of said sti'fening pieces so as to shape said portions into a series of parallel continuous trussed ribs.

5. A reticulated metal sheet made up' Wholly of strands or strips arranged on edge and forming connected si1nilarly-disposed approximately diamond-shaped polygonal members arranged in rows, certain of the sides of 'the members in each row forming a continuous stiifening piece ex tending diagonally across the sheet, and

.portions of the reticulated metal being pressed laterally With and each containing at least one of said stiening pieces so as to produce a series of trussed ribsextending diagonally across the sheet and serving to stiffen the sheet both transversely' and longitudinally.

6. A. reticulated metal sheet made up Wholly of strands or strips arranged on edge and forming connected similarly-disposed approximately diamond-shaped members having theirv sides extending diagonally of so as to. stillen it both in the transverse C;...

es tre Ieach containing at least one ot said continu-- ous stiiening pieces extending longitudi nally thereof, and other portions of the retic- I ulated metal being pressed laterally into the form of series of shortribs each containing portions of certain of the stili'ening pieces which intersect the first set of ribs.

. 7 A reticulated metal sheet made up Wholly of strands or strips arranged on edge and forming connected diamond-shaped members arranged in rows extending diagonally across the sheet parallel with the sides of said members, certain of the sides oi the members in each row being. arranged end to 'end in the form of a continuousstil'ening piece extending diagonally across the sheet, and portions of the reticnlated metal being pressed-laterally into" the 'forni ofribs each containing at least vone ventire row and portions of adjacent rows, 'each et` said ribs extending parallel 'with .and con taininffa aluralit of the'stiil'emn nieces b y r the rows r, intained in the vrib 'whereby the sheet 1s provided with a series of trnssed ribs extending diagonally across the serie in the longitudinal. direction.

In testimony wherefd. l s 

